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The Willard Era begins (updated)

Plenty of notes, quotes and links on today’s Kevin Willard/Anne Donovan press conference at Seton Hall (plus some links on Steve Lavin and other local hoops issues).

First a few thoughts after picking the brain of the beat writers in attendance at Walsh Gym:

—The buzzwords of the day, coming from the SHU brass, were “character” and “integrity.” Contrast that with four years ago, when it was all about “excitement.”

—Willard’s staff is close to settled. The Iona crew is coming over whole with Shaheen Holloway, Dan McHale and Steve Sauers. It looks like former Pirates Marcus Toney-El and Grant Billmeier will be on board in administrative roles. There was also talk of guys like Andre Barrett coming back to work out with the undergrads. Good to see the new coach reaching out to the Pirate family. That was a weakness of the last regime.

—Reporters can be a skeptical lot, but the guys with the pads and pens got a good vibe from the new coach. “Quiet intensity” is how one described Willard.

—No players were in attendance, but the feeling is there’s very little chance that all three of Jeremy Hazell, Herb Pope and Jeff Robinson will return. Willard was realistic and said as much. Our educated guess is that Pope’s a goner, Robinson is 50/50 and Hazell a bit more than 50/50.

—Holloway is looking forward to working with Jordan Theodore. No word on the status of the other undergrads. Freshman forward Fero Hall is a transfer risk. When you add in the troubled likes of Keon Lawrence and Melvyn Oliver, there could be as many as six defections. But it seems like everyone will get a fair shot to stay if they want to toe the line.

–There was plenty of talk about defense, which was sorely lacking over the past four years. Coming from the Rick Pitino coaching tree, expect Willard to emphasize that side of the ball.

“Ir’s bittersweet for me because Bobby Gonzalez gave me my first job.I’ve got a lot of respect for him, I like Bobby a lot, but I’m just happy to be here.”

“I don’t want to step on coach Willard’s toes, but hopefully down the line I’ll be the head coach here someday. That’s always been a goal of mine, ever since I chose Seton Hall as a player . I’m just happy coach Willard brought me back here.”

“I like to avoid expectations. What I will tell you is the guys I saw (Tuesday) are going to work hard. I’m happy with the guys here. I hope all of them stay, all of them come back. “

“Jeff (Robinson) and I have a relationship since he was in high school. We both went to St. pat’s. I coached him up his freshman year when I was coaching at St. Pat’s, so I don’t have a problem with Jeff. Jeff is a great kid. They’re all good kids.”

Patrick Hobbs:

On picking a coach: “It had to be someone with great coaching talent, but most importantly, someone with great moral character and the utmost integrity.” (applause)

“I spent many hours on the phone with high school coaches and AAU coaches, asking them for advice, and whether, with the right coach, they thought Seton Hall could compete at the highest levels in the Big East. They told me to find someone on the way up. Someone with tremendous energy and a great work ethic. Someone who could relate to the players and gain their respect. And someone who would value the opportunity to coach at Seton Hall.”

On Holloway helping bring Willard here: “Not coincidently, he happens to be our all-time assist leader, so we have to add one now. … He said if we weren’t looking at coach Kevin Willard, we were crazy.”

Kevin Willard

“I stand here humble, hungry, determined and really ready to get going. This is an opportunity I never thought would happen 10 years ago.”

“We don’t have an easy job ahead of us, but we have such a wonderful opportunity at such a wonderful university. I can’t wait.”

“This program will be built on three simple keys of life: Character; focus; and hard work. Everything else besides that will be fun. It will be passionate. We’re going to play a great style of basketball that the fans, the alumni will enjoy going to. But most importantly, every player who comes in is going to want to play for Seton Hall University.”

“The one thing that I think you need to do to win championships, whether it’s the Big East championship or the national championship, is you have to play defense. And I think this team is very talented. They have great scorers. But you’ve got to defend … you can’t make every shot, but you can defend every time.’’

On recruiting N.J.: “I had six kids on my roster at Iona from Jersey. We’ve recruited in New Jersey very well.”

On N.J. high school coaches: “Our relationship is great. I respect them tremendously and respect the job they do and am looking forward to working with them.”

On the current players: “I think they do have character, they are good kids. You’ve just got to give them a chance . . . and that’s what I told them. I was very impressed with all the meetings I had with them. Obviously no one is perfect. By working hard and having a little discipline in the program, and it starts with me, and doing the right things, I think we’ll get there.”On reaching out to SHU basketball alums: “I think its very important to build a family relationship. I want all the former players to understand that they’re welcome back. I want to bring them back. And I think that they’re great role models.”

After reading more about both hires and watching the press conference today, I think about an interesting point. With both of these coaches coming in at the same time and with both programs on the floor (assuming the 3 leave the mens team) who will have the quickest success?
Being a Jersey guy, I know the legend that is Anne Donovan. That is an unreal hire for SHU. Frankly, although Willard is starting to grow on me I was pretty damn impressed with Anne's resume. I wonder if they are coaching the right teams?
I don't think there is any concern about Willard's coaching ability, but we all know that in this area it's about one thing and one thing only - recruiting. For all of the pedigree and success he's had, I am not convinced he, Holloway and Sauders can pull it off. I am very hopeful and anxious to see who they are going after. Until then, I will be here with the support and optimism that day one of "the turnaround" is April 1, 2010 and that is no joke.

Pope - See ya. You have talent but your latest actions were a disgrace.
Hazell - See ya. Addition by subtraction? The Offense needs to run through more then one person jacking up NBA threes while standing on his head.
Robinson - Would love to see him back.

I for one am willing to live with a couple "rebuilding" season to get the ship back on track. Get rid of the problems and rebuild correctly. From what I have read, this guy is the right guy for the job. But then again, every new coach is the right guy for the job when hired.

Bea-
You haven't a clue. You will see 2 of those 3, if not all 3, back in a SHU uniform next season. You're willing to live with a couple of rebuilding season [sic]? That's nice, you'll be all over the new coach halfway through the BE schedule if we're not 7-2. Give it a rest, for the summer, at least.

I truly believe that seeing Pope, Hazell and even JRob in the NBA draft to "test the waters" is the best possible thing for them.

These young me need to (want to) see where they stand against NBA talent. The reality is that none of these 3 guys were even 1st team All Big East... I believe they all have the ability to be, but they need to 'get there'.

My hope, as a Seton Hall alumni and fan, is that all three of them have good workouts for teams, see what they need to do in order to get to the next level, and then return to the Hall for 1 more year to work HARD and show maturity, drive and direction.

I also hope Willard is able to lead by example, and show these men that getting "T's" (with such regularity) is not acceptable, and that will be viewed by NBA GM's.

Plus, if they return to Seton Hall, they really have the ability to increase their stock... that's just a fact.

Regardless... I wish them all well.

Jerry, did you see the Donovan hire coming? It's almost like SHU landing Pat Riley or the like for the men's program. Absolutely stunning hire.

I've heard from numerous people that the chances of Pope's return are slim to none. The other two guys I can see coming back. One thing to remember: I believe a zero tolerance policy, or something like it, is going to be in place here. Everyone's going to have a chance to get on board, but Willard is not going to put up with the off-the-court nonsense that went on over the past four years. Generally speaking (I'm not referring to anyone specific here), don't be surprised if one or more of Gonzo's guys suddenly "leave the program" in the late spring or summer because they couldn't walk the straight and narrow.

BB, don't give up on Hazell just yet. If his talent is properly harnessed it can still pay big dividends next year. Won't be easy after three years of running amok, but it's possible.

No one saw the Anne Donovan thing coming. The Pat Riley comparison is pretty good. As Politi said, sometimes you get lucky. I hope they're paying her more than Mangina's $10 an hour.

i for one will not be giving our new coach a grace period and will show him the same disrespect Carino and his minions showed Bobby G. This is a terrible hire by a guy who cant even run a law school properly. Gonzalez had this team on the cusp of contention with several guys still underclassmen. Unfortunately the move has forced out two starters and a third role player. Make no mistake about it, Pope will be drafted. He has been described as the Dejuan Blair of this year's draft. Hazell is a sharpshooter, so there is room for him in the nba as well.

I do not see how this hire helps the program, either short or long term. You cannot get big name recruits to south orange, nj without a big name coach. Gonzalez knew that, so he took castoffs from other programs.

Sorry, but it's obvious that S/H ... in their desire not to be publicly snubbed ... lost out on Al Skinner, who wanted back into the Big East ... so S/H proved what and who they see themselves as ... unfortunate !!!

Michael Anthony . . . you are some piece of work. Pass the bottle my friend. I need some of what you're chugging. My "minions" are thirsty too!

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About the Author

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.Email Jerry.